Maktoum bin Mohammed meets with CEO of SWIFT

emirates7 - H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, today met with Javier Pérez-Tasso, Chief Executive Officer of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services.

The meeting explored opportunities to deepen cooperation between the UAE and SWIFT by leveraging the country’s strengths in infrastructure, regulation, and digital transformation.

H.H. Sheikh Maktoum emphasised the UAE’s commitment to building a future-ready financial ecosystem that contributes to enhancing global financial resilience and accelerates the adoption of innovative technologies.

He noted that the UAE’s business-friendly environment and advanced financial infrastructure continue to enable leading global institutions to expand their regional footprint.

H.H. Sheikh Maktoum also highlighted Dubai’s rise as a major global financial hub and its position as a gateway between international markets. Sheikh Maktoum said that Dubai is keen to work more closely with international players such as SWIFT to facilitate global financial flows, support trade, enhance the integrity of the financial system, and advance industry-wide standards.

Strengthening such partnerships aligns with the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to position Dubai among the world’s top four global financial centres, he noted.

H.H. Sheikh Maktoum welcomed the choice of Dubai as the host city for SIBOS 2029, one of the world’s largest and most influential financial services conferences, organised by SWIFT. He noted that this selection reflects Dubai’s growing global role in the industry and its world-class ecosystem for hosting major international industry events.

SWIFT, a global member-owned cooperative, connects more than 11,500 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporates across over 200 countries and territories with secure, standardised financial messaging.

Headquartered in Belgium, SWIFT plays a central role in enabling global financial flows, enhancing compliance frameworks, and advancing cybersecurity and operational efficiency across the financial industry. It facilitates the daily average transmission of over 53 million FIN messages that form the basis for secure, standardised communication between banks and financial institutions worldwide. The organisation has an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

The meeting was attended by Mohammed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs; Helal Almarri, Director-General of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism; Essa Kazim, Governor of DIFC; Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Emirates NBD; and Marwan Ahmad Lutfi, Director-General, Al Etihad Credit Bureau.